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Thursday, January 24, 2013

The End Starts Here: On Loving the Past While Embracing the Future... and how few can do both.

Every facet of contemporary life was now up for grabs. Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra had already been completely overrun by Rock and Roll, and unfortunately the world and its critics did not seem able to accept one along with the other. There seemed to be very little room for both. To be in the know, one had to choose.

So on that fateful day in 1968, Robert Anderson received an early copy of the review of his play, by Clive Barnes of The New York Times. He panned it as old fashioned with sentiment too powerful for the modern world. This masterpiece of a play closed after 124 performances. Robert Anderson, after this play, could never again get a favorable review from The New York Times. His time had come and gone. A man I loved and admired had been rejected. His voice was no longer needed or heeded. His accomplishments represented the past, and the future had no room for him or many of his contemporaries.

Sure there were revivals and accolades, but the world was ready to discard and leave Robert Anderson and his contemporaries behind. It was a new day.